This delicious chocolate larabar recipe is the perfect healthy snack for all your chocolate cravings and takes 2 minutes to make. Homemade larabars are made with 5 ingredients, naturally sweetened with dried fruit and nuts and packed with healthy fats and proteins.
Contents
🌟 Why this recipe works
Homemade chocolate larabars are so simple to prepare any home cook can do it without a fuss. The recipe is entirely foolproof and contains healthy natural ingredients.
Making homemade versions of larabars taste far better than their store-bought counterparts, and with only 5 ingredients required, they are cost-effective also.
The chocolatey flavor from the chocolate chips and cacao powder is seriously indulgent combined with the chewy, naturally sweet dates. The almonds give a soft texture while binding everything together so that the bar stays firm and moist.
Authentic food recipes like larabars come in a variety of flavors. If you're not into chocolate brownie larabars, you can switch up the ingredients to your taste, like coconut larabars or peanut butter cookie bars.
This larabar chocolate chip brownie recipe is a favorite with kids. Larabars are the perfect snack cuisine for taking to school in their lunchbox, and they store well for use throughout the week. Looking for more snack? I highly recommend to try my no bake haystack cookies recipe.
🍽 Key Ingredients
This homemade larabar recipe is made without added sugar and uses healthy ingredients like almonds, chocolate, and dates.
Dried fruit - I use pitted Medjool dates for this recipe, as they work well with chocolate and add a nice sweetness to the Larabar brownies.
Nuts - For readiness, buy blanched almonds without their skins. If you get the raw almonds like me, learn how to blanch almonds in a easy way.
Chocolate - To give the larabars extra indulgence, were adding chocolate chips and cocoa powder. I use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Nuts
You can substitute the almonds for other nuts like cashews or walnuts without changing the texture.
🔪 How to make
Homemade larabars with chocolate chips are absolutely irresistible and take 2 minutes to prepare in the food processor. Learn how to make them with my easy-to-follow instructions and helpful top tips.
Instructions
Step 1
Place all the ingredients into food processor or high powered blender.
Step 2
Blend until solid and slightly sticky. It will become a large lump with most of it stuck together.
Step 3
Remove the sticky lump and any loose pieces to a flat surface with parchment paper in between.
Step 4
Press the mixture with a rolling pin or your hands until the lump flattens into a square or rectangular shape around 1-inch thick.
Step 5
Place in a fridge for a few hours to make it easier to cut.
Step 6
Cut into squares or rectangles and store in fridge in between sheets of wax or parchment paper, or you can wrap each one individually in wax paper for putting in lunches or for on the go. You can use a cute sticker to seal them for kids lunches!
💭 Cooking tips
Consistency
When pulsating the ingredients in the food processor, make sure the mixture is completely blended. Scrape the sides and bottom of the machine if the mixture gets stuck as the food processor blends the ingredients.
Shaping
I cut the homemade chocolate larabars into squares, as it's easier for storing them in my airtight container, but feel free to cut them into circles, triangles or use a shape cutter.
Chilling
Once you have shaped the larabar, you need to chill it for an hour or so before you can cut it. The chilling process helps the bar become firm. For best results, let it chill overnight in the fridge.
Soak the dates
Medjool dates are soft and juicy, making them perfect for this recipe. If your dates are dry and hard, submerge them in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes to soften them.
📖 Recipe Variations
Peanut butter larabars
I love peanut butter, and this variation using unsalted peanuts instead of almonds tastes exactly like peanut butter and gives the larabar a softer, buttery consistency.
Larabars brownies with chia seeds
Give the larabars extra protein with ½ cup of chia seeds. There's no need to swap any ingredients - just add chocolate chips, the chia seeds, and the other ingredients to the food processor until combined. Chia seeds are rich in protein and make great pre-workout energy bars.
Vanilla, coconut, almond & date larabars
This variation omits the chocolate and uses coconut to give the bars extra moisture and texture. Coconut & date larabars are an irresistible alternative to chocolate brownie larabars, contain fewer calories, and are perfect as a dairy-free snack.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Are larabars healthy?
Yes, larabars are considered a healthy snack due to their natural ingredients and sugars. They are a great nutritional choice as part of a balanced diet, but since the bars calories are quite dense, you should avoid overindulging and consume before exercise for best results.
Do Larabars make you gain weight?
No, unless you eat a lot of them. Larabars contain lots of protein, fiber, and healthy fat, making them ideal for weight-loss regimes and working out. They are a good source of energy and should be consumed as part of a meal plan.
🧊 Storage
Chocolate chip larabars are so easy to store once chilled and cut.
Fridge - Transfer the larabars to an airtight container lined with wax paper and stack them on top of each other with wax paper in between each bar to not stick together. They will last for 2 weeks refrigerated.
Freezer - To freeze them, simply use individual freezer bags for each larabar or use an airtight container lined with wax paper. Frozen chocolate larabars will last up to 4 months and need to be thawed overnight in the fridge when you want to eat them.
🍳 Related Recipes
Try one of these easy sweet snacks when you feel you a craving a treat.
👪 Serving Size
This chocolate brownie larabar recipe makes approximately 18 bars, which is more than enough for a few days for a family of 4, and It's easily scalable when you need to cater for guests.
Making your own larabars at home is ideal for kids packed lunches and snacking on before a workout. They are healthy and packed with fiber and protein! Give them a try, and let me know what you think in the comments.
📋 Recipe
Chocolate Brownie Larabars
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup dates - pitted
- 1 cup blanched almonds - or raw or regular
- 4 tablespoon cocoa powder - regular or dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips - optional, I use Enjoy Life brand
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into food processor or high powered blender.
- Blend until solid and slightly sticky. It will become a large lump with most of it stuck together.
- Remove lump and press any loose pieces into it and place on a sheet of wax paper.
- Place another piece of wax paper on top of the lump and do your best to flatten and form into a square or rectangle.
- Place in a fridge for a few hours to make it easier to cut.
- Cut into squares or rectangles and store in fridge in between sheets of wax or parchment paper, or you can wrap each one individually in wax paper for putting in lunches or for on the go. You can use a cute sticker to seal them for kids lunches!
Robin (Masshole Mommy)
Larabars are wicked expensive to buy, so this is an awesome alternative.
Kimberly Grabinski
These taste better too. Just sayin' 😉
Sheena Tatum
These look fantastic. Oh my nom.
Kimberly Grabinski
They are! I have more flavors to post about too.
Shell Feis
Ooh yum! I need to try these. I love Larabars but would love to make my own!
Kimberly Grabinski
My son likes them better than Larabars.
Dee @ Cocktails with Mom
These look really good. I like the no cooking part.
Kimberly Grabinski
Yes! So easy!
Maryann
Yes, i always think dates look like cockroaches. but the larabars look great.
Kimberly Grabinski
hahaha now I'm even more creeped out by them.
Kristine
OMG me too!!! I thought I was the only one 🙂 My husband brought home a big container of them and just looking at the outside of the container was enough to creep me out.
marilyn
I'm so happy I saw this recipe! It didn't even occur to me to try to make my own larabars! YES!
Kimberly Grabinski
It really is easy and they taste soooo good.
Olan
Really good! Tastes better than brownie larabar from the store, I had to add a tbsp of water to the mixture in the food processor to get it to stick. My sister who is a brownie lover said these taste just as good if not better than brownies! I’ve made it 3 times and it’ll be a keeper recipe forsure, thank you for sharing!
Terri Mueller
These look really good but I have a tree nut allergy do you think peanuts would work?
Thank you!